Production of concentrated milk fat compositions and unitised high density compositions

Abstract

The present application is directed to a method comprising; heating high fat cream, subjecting the high fat cream to shear forces, and removing water to provide a milk fat composition being a water-in-oil emulsion and comprising about 85-99.5% lipid and moisture content of about 0.05-15%. A method comprising the separation of concentrated milk fat to provide a high fat paste comprising about 1 to about 90% by weight lipid, about 0.1 to about 20% by weight moisture, and about 0.5 to about 35% phospholipid, and a milk fat concentrate comprising about 99 to about 99.9% lipid is also disclosed. In addition a method of producing a unitised high density composition comprising; providing a mixture comprising one or more liquid or semi-liquid milk fat compositions, and one or more milk powders, and compacting the mixture to produce a unitised high density composition is disclosed.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to methods of producing concentrated milk fat compositions and unitised high density compositions produced from protein powder and lipid mixtures.BACKGROUND[0002]Bovine milk comprises about 87% water by weight on average (Tetra Pak Dairy Processing Handbook, 2003) so is uneconomical to ship internationally in liquid form. Most milk that is shipped internationally is spray-dried as either whole milk powder or skim milk powder and comprises no more than 3-4% residual moisture by weight. Whole milk and skim milk powders generally have bulk densities in the order of about 0.45 to 0.57 g / ml and 0.45 to 0.6 g / ml respectively (Tetra Pak Dairy Processing Handbook, 2003). Increasing the bulk density of these products would reduce the volume to be shipped and so reduce costs.[0003]Other protein powders, such as milk protein concentrate and whey protein concentrate powders, or non-dairy powders such as soy protein powders, have similar ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention relates to methods for producing concentrated milk fat compositions and high fat paste concentrates with a high lipid content. The methods involve heating high fat cream, subjecting it to shear forces, and removing water from it. The resulting concentrated milk fat composition is a water-in-oil emulsion with a high lipid content and a low moisture content. The methods may also involve heating the high fat cream, subjecting it to shear forces, and removing water from it in a single step or in a combination of steps. The methods may also involve using desiccants or solvents to remove water from the high fat cream. The invention also relates to a method of producing a unitised high density composition by mixing a mixture of high fat cream and water-in-oil emulsion.

Problems solved by technology

Bovine milk comprises about 87% water by weight on average (Tetra Pak Dairy Processing Handbook, 2003) so is uneconomical to ship internationally in liquid form.

Features of these processes that make them undesirable include the requirement for addition of water as a polishing step with associated losses, the need for recirculation of material around the phase inversion device, the potential for loss of oil-continuous phase, and the need for multiple separation steps by centrifugal devices.

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